First meeting for Apna Albion

APNA Albion was given a fantastic lift-off by more than 100 Baggies fans at its inaugural 'showcase' meeting at The Hawthorns.

The new supporter group, aimed at reaching members of the Punjabi community but open to all, was given a ringing show of support as its steering committee outlined their plans and hopes in the years to come.

Albion Chief Executive Martin Goodman, Director of Communications Martin Swain and Rob Lake, Director of the Albion Foundation joined the throng who gathered at The Hawthorns' Pennington Suite for an informal "Q and A" and general "launch" discussion.

Goodman said: "We are delighted with the turn-out and the level of the support this initiative has generated already. I can only see it going from strength-to-strength.

"We will do all we can to help Apna Albion, as we have done with other supporter groups, to become an established feature of our Club. But really it is all about the group themselves – what do they want? We want them to help us, to tell us what they need for us to really reach out engage with their community.

"We don't want an easy ride either. We want to be challenged and helped to do things better in order the Punjabi community which the group principally serves, sees Albion for what we believe it is – welcoming and inclusive and a great club to enjoy on their doorstep."

Steve Ghuman, who has headed the steering committee brought together to form Apna Albion, said he was "overwhelmed" by this opening show of interest and support from the Punjabi community.

He gave a presentation on Apna Albion's immediate and long-range plans which featured everything from community projects and family days out to "the ultimate dream of one day seeing a Baggies shirt out there with 'Singh' on the back!"

Steve said after the two-hour meeting: "I think we need a couple of weeks to take stock of all this now. It's overwhelming.

"We've got a lot of written feedback to go through to learn what future members want but I think it's clear that we have the chance to make a big contribution and show all our community that The Hawthorns and Albion is a fantastic place to enjoy."